What We Loved This Week: Street Food, Obama’s Inauguration and More

Travel Blog  •  World Hum  •  01.23.09 | 4:42 PM ET

The World Of Street Food

Our contributors share a favorite travel-related experience from the past seven days.

Frank Bures
I loved my new cookbook, The World of Street Foods: Easy Quick Meals to Cook at Home, which has everything from Tanzanian mango fritters to Thai tom yam to Libyan almond cookies to Mexican hot chocolate. Based I what I know, these recipes look like the real deal.

Jim Benning
Malcolm Gladwell’s hour-long talk on Book TV—you can watch it online here—about the role culture and communication can play in plane crashes. It’s utterly fascinating and changed the way I think about such things. (It’s also, it turns out, quite controversial.) Still, it makes me want to pick up his new book, Outliers: The Story of Success.

Valerie Conners
The inauguration of President Barack Obama, of course! But really, as I’ve tried to absorb the enormity of Tuesday, I’ve been moved by images from around the globe, particularly in this slideshow from Boston.com, which have offered such great perspective on how this moment has affected people well beyond U.S. borders.

Michael Yessis
Going to the National Mall and watching the inauguration. So, so cold out, but an overwhelming, beautiful experience.

Julia Ross
Of the many high points this week, I loved that Obama hightailed it over to the State Department on day two in office, bucked up our diplomats, and broke out his Indonesian. A global president = priceless.

Barackti Chai

Joanna Kakissis
I celebrated the inauguration of President Barack Obama with many cups of “Barackti Chai,” a Kenyan-coffee blend of my beloved Bhakti Chai, a spicy masala blend microbrewed in Boulder, Colorado, by an India-loving genius. It went well with French toast, which I hear shall no longer be called “freedom toast.”

Eva Holland
I arrived in New York City this week for an extended visit, and though I’m only a few hours south of my hometown, I’m as excited about this trip as any I’ve ever taken. The highlight so far? Definitely the clear view of the Chrysler Building at night, from the street outside my new (temporary) home in Queens.

Jenna Schnuer
Since Lance Mackey isn’t running the Yukon Quest this year, the first name I’ll scan the standings for will be Newton Marshall, the only Jamaican to ever qualify for the 1,000-mile race. He finished 13th at this week’s Copper Basin 300. Oh, he’s backed by Jimmy Buffet.

Terry Ward
Europebyair for booking inexpensive one-way tickets to the Continent. Orlando to Hamburg on Lufthansa for around $424, with just one connection in Frankfurt. Can’t beat that.